Nailed It or Failed It: Strawberry crumb cake

Published 10:29 am Monday, July 1, 2019

couple weeks ago, Brad and I were out for a drive in the country when we passed a roadside strawberry stand.

We were past the stand when we realized what was going on. After turning around, we passed up the entrance to the stand and had to turn around one more time.

We pulled into the tiny parking lot and jumped out of the truck. I could see a lady in the field picking the berries and could hardly wait to take the few steps to the table where the little beauties were waiting for us.

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The strawberries were a deep red and were calling our names.

We knew we had a lot going on in the coming week and couldn’t overbuy the berries because we wouldn’t have time to do anything with too many. We ended up buying two quarts and headed home.

Of course, when we got home we had to try a few of the strawberries — they were so good.

I rinsed off more and set them aside for supper time.

After supper, I started looking through my dessert recipes to see what I could make with the remaining berries.

The first recipe I found was today’s Strawberry Crumb Cake, which I’d copied from a “Family Circle” magazine.

Strawberry Crumb Cake

INGREDIENTS

— 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

— 1/2 cup sugar

— 2 teaspoons baking powder

— 1/4 teaspoon salt

— 1 large egg

— 1/2 cup milk

— 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

— 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

— 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

Crumb Topping:

— 1/12 cup all-purpose flour

— 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

— 1/4 cup cold butter, cut in pieces

— 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

— 1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat and 8-by-8-by-2-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

In a small bowl mix egg, milk, oil and vanilla

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add egg mixture to well. Beat with a wooden spoon one minute until evenly moistened.

Spoon into prepared pans. Top with strawberries.

Crumb Topping: In a small bowl, mix flour and sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in nuts. Sprinkle topping over strawberries.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into nine squares and  dust with confectioners’ sugar.

I decided to wait until Tuesday night to make the cake so I could take it to church for one of our Wednesday night meals. That way I could share it with our table mates, whoever they might be.

The cake was easy to put together, and when I poured the batter into the pan, I was surprised there was so little of it. I spread the batter to the edges of the pan then sprinkled the sliced strawberries over the top.

The crumb mixture came together just as easy as the cake batter, and after sprinkling it over top of the strawberries, I put it in the oven to bake.

The cake was ready after 40 minutes, and I sat the pan on a cooling rack and headed to bed.

I covered the cake Wednesday morning and took it to work with me since I’d be going straight to church after work.

When Brad and I got to the church, my mom was sitting with some of her friends eating, so I decided we’d sit with them and share the dessert.

Since the recipe said to sprinkle the top of the cake with confectioner’s sugar, I brought my confectioners’ sugar shaker with me.

I wanted to wait until right before serving the cake to sprinkle it on top because confectioners’ sugar seems to be absorbed by whatever you sprinkle it on.

When we sat down at the table with mom and friends, I told everyone we had dessert if they wanted to try it.

My mom was the first to try the cake, and she liked it but thought it was a little bit dry.

One of my mom’s best friends, who didn’t want me to mention her name, said she liked the cake and didn’t think it was dry.

Others at the table, including Pat and Linda, let me know they thought the cake was delicious. Brad and I tried the cake, and we thought it was pretty good too; however, I did expect a little more strawberry flavor.

Even though the cake batter had seemed skimpy when I poured it into the pan, it had risen to a nice thickness.

Before others at the table had a chance to try the cake, it was time for me to head to the kitchen because I’m on the cleanup crew.

As some of the taste testers were heading off to their Wednesday night activities, they thanked me for sharing and said they enjoyed the cake.

Elaine, the person who is over our Wednesday night meals, overheard the conversation and looked at me and said: “where’s my cake?” Oops, it was all gone. I let her know I’d let her be a taste tester the next time.

I’m sorry there isn’t a picture of the cake to tempt you into making it. I thought for sure I’d taken a few photos, but for the life of me, I cannot find them on my camera.

But you can take it from me, this recipe is a winner and falls into the nailed it category.

I’m sure you’ve guessed, it’s headed to my self-made cookbook.

Next week I’ll tell you what I made with the remaining strawberries.

Sarah Condley is an amateur baker and chef who is compiling a cookbook of her favorite recipes.